The Chronicle’s front page from Jan. 8, 1999, covers the impeachment of President Bill Clinton and the trial’s start on the Senate floor.

“In a bizarre confluence of grave formality and roiling confusion, the Senate impeachment trial of (the president) opened yesterday as senators waged an intense behind-the-scenes battle over what to do next,” the story read.

“Tumultuous daylong negotiations that often threatened to disintegrate into partisan warfare ended in a show of comity by Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., and Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D.”

Clinton was impeached in December 1998 by the GOP-led House of Representatives on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice in the Monica Lewinsky scandal. The Senate trial started after the seating of the 106th Congress, and it was a scene of turmoil from the start.

The front page features a photo of the strange proceedings, with the chief justice of the Supreme Court, William Rehnquist, being sworn in to preside over the trial.

More than a month after the chaotic beginning, Clinton would be acquitted of the charges, just like the only other U.S. president to be impeached: Andrew Jackson in 1868.

A long time ago ... : The teaser box near the top of the page captured the excitement for “Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace.” No one knew what to expect from the first “Star Wars” movie in nearly two decades, and little did anyone know that a computer-generated character named Jar-Jar Binks would leave such a significant impression on the franchise. Mee-sa not-a see dat comin’.

See more front pages: Go to SFChronicle.com/covers to search a database of hundreds of Chronicle Covers articles that showcase the newspaper’s history.